On July 22, 2017, Salesforce.com,inc will be rolling out an updated version of TLS, an encryption protocol that is pertinent to the database’s security. This is “to align with security industry best practices and protect the safety of your data”, quoted from Salesforce®. Changes you may need to make will vary based on your org.

Some of the impacts include: User browser access, browser incompatibility will prevent your internal users from accessing salesforce.com. Microsoft email integrations such as Salesforce for Outlook, Exchange Sync, and Salesforce App for Outlook won’t work if users don’t meet compatibility requirements. API integrations will cease to work if they are not compatible with TLS 1.1 or later. This includes .NET-based integrations that send requests to Salesforce, and are not enabled with TLS 1.1 and/or TLS 1.2. Communities and Sites users will not be able to connect unless their browser or browser settings are updated per compatibility guidelines. Things you’ll want to consider when adapting to TLS 1.1 is how users are accessing your org, which version of TLS your integrated systems use, any API integrations, and your Communities and Sites browser settings. Salesforce was even nice enough to put together a helpful Checklist to assist their customers with the transfer.

I’ve reviewed all materials provided and here are some of the key take aways. Be prepared to meet the deadline for any necessary changes so, that your org is not negatively affected on the day of The Switch. Review user’s access, what browsers are being used to access the database? API integrations, inbound data transfers to Salesforce from integrated systems, and call-outs to web pages and integrated systems. Examples of these integrated systems may include: Single-Sign-On, Outbound Messaging, and Applications including Mobile. You can reach out to Vendors on details about their compatibility with TLS 1.1. Further documentation can be found on the Salesforce Community.

As an additional accommodation, Salesforce is now offering special promotions for the ‘Enabler4Excel’ app. For those who don’t know this is a product offered by Salesforce that acts as a connector to Microsoft Excel. You can have your Salesforce data in an Excel environment which enables mass updates, inserts, deletes, merges, and Lead conversion. Since it’s release date November 7, 2013, you can sign up for a 30 day free trial. Regular pricing is $8.25 USD per user/per month, and three free licenses are available for non-profit users. As of July 1, 2017 the ‘Retrieve from Salesforce’ feature will be free of charge to all users no matter their licence type. Use this link for more information on ‘Enabler4Excel’, enjoy!

The change over to the upgraded TLS 1.1 encryption protocol will be deployed on July 22nd to all orgs, at the same time. Be sure you review the preparation materials, as changes will vary based on your specific integrations and security guidelines.